Betty MacDonald Fan Club. Join fans of the beloved writer Betty MacDonald (1907-58). The original Betty MacDonald Fan Club and literary Society. Welcome to Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society - the official Betty MacDonald Fan Club Website with members in 40 countries.
Betty MacDonald, the author of The Egg and I and the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Series is beloved all over the world. Don't miss Wolfgang Hampel's Betty MacDonald biography and his very witty interviews on CD and DVD!

come on dearest Betty MacDonald fan club fans.

There are only a few hours left.

It's not too difficult to answer this question.

Betty MacDonald mentioned her favourite flower in several letters and in one of her books.

Tell us Betty MacDonald's favourite flower, please.

Deadline: January 31, 2016

Betty MacDonald fan club birthday card contest is really a great idea.

The winner who sent the best and most original birthday card will be Honor
guest of the next International Betty MacDonald fan club event.

Deadline: March 15, 2016

A Betty MacDonald fan club birthday exhibit with many very special birthday cards by Betty MacDonald's family and friends.

You'll be able to see wonderful cards for Betty MacDonald with very touching messages for example by her daughter Joan MacDonald Keil or her good friend Monica Sone. ( see info below ' Betty MacDonald and The plague and I )

There will be a Betty MacDonald fan club birthday event DVD available.

Join us in voting for your favourite city, please.

I'm fond of this great video.

You can see brilliant Brad Craft.

Seems I'm in this for a hot second. I remember being asked to
participate one day on the street in front of the bookstore where I
work. I didn't think to ask what it was for, or even so much as the
name of the song or the band. Didn't want to be late coming back from
lunch. Silly bugger. The very nice young woman with the green hair
also featured herein happens to work at Magus Books. She mentioned
she'd seen me. Told me the name of the band, and here we are.

Handball

Germany wins European handball championship, qualifies for Olympics

Germany has ended its 12-year drought in the European handball
championship, beating Spain 24-17 to advance outright to the 2016 Summer
Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The Germans are European handball champions, trouncing Spain 24-17 in
the final of the European championship in Krakow on Sunday to lift their
first title since 2004.The victory not only gives Germany its second title, but also qualifies
the team outright for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.Following a tight semifinal with Norway, Germany was in full control
against Spain. The team jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, with Friday's
hero Kai Häfner scoring three goals in two minutes. Germany held that
margin until halftime.Germany widened it quickly after the break thanks to goals by Tobias
Reichmann and Hendrick Pekeler. But despite three seven-meter goals in
the second half, the Spaniards didn't seem to have a comeback in them.Germany now join host country Brazil, France, Argentina, Qatar and Egypt
in the Olympic field. Spain and Croatia, winner of the third place
match earlier Sunday afternoon, now advance to the final Olympic
qualifying tournament in April.

Handball

Opinion: Germany's handball team win title with team spirit and confidence

Germany's European Championship triumph in Poland is a story of team
spirit and confidence, writes DW's Tobias Oelmaier. Can the sport of
handball build on this success?

Even the federal president cheered along. He watched the most games and
was "impressed by the team's unity that led them to success," Joachim
Gauck told the freshly-crowned
European champions before the celebrations
began in Krakow. How much Gauck really knows about handball, remains to
be seen, but he felt what everyone appeared to feel whilst watching
Germany play.
"We haven't got a chance, so we'll take it," must have been coach Dagur
Sigurdsson's motto as he lost more and more of his stars. Captain Uwe
Gensheimer and three other starters were injured for the tournament.
Gensheimer's deputy Steffen Weinhold and Christian Dissenger went down
in the main round game against Russia. Sixteen European Championship
debutants were in Germany's team in Poland. Care free, hungry and
confident, the group was always looking ahead.
"Finals are played to be won," proclaimed Julius Kühn ahead of the game
against Spain. Kühn, like Kai Häfner, spent most of the tournament
watching from the comfort of his sofa before he was called up to replace
the injured players. Fittingly enough, it was Häfner who scored the
last-minute winner against Norway to seal Germany's spot in the final.A victory of faith

DW Sports Journalist Tobias Oelmaier

Granted, the German handball team rode their luck at times.
Outside of the 24-17 final win against Spain, nearly all of the games
were close. Against Norway, it even went to extra time and had Germany
lost there, there would have been no room for complaints. But they
didn't want to complain, they wanted to win and luck can also be earned.
The success is "not by chance", said Sigurdsson after the final. Germany
have been playing good handball for a year and a half. Admittedly,
having missed qualification for the 2015 World Cup, Germany were only
invited thanks to a controversial wildcard. In the end, Germany came
away with a respectable seventh spot. The wonder of Poland is no
coincidence, but a result of meticulous work.
Now is the time to conserve this sense of euphoria and to channel it.
For two weeks, handball became a sport of the people in Germany. Network
television in Germany showed the games, with eight million tuning in
for the semifinal alone. This is not only a chance for this sport, but
also plenty of others. If there's one thing that the victory in Krakow
revealed then it's how inspiring the combination of persistence, talent
and team spirit can be. If the belief is there, anything is possible.
And with that in mind, who is to say the Olympics 2020 won't end in a
gold medal? Maybe even in Rio this summer.Did you watch the handball? Do you feel more inspired to
play the game? Did Germany's support of their team leave you feeling
proud? Let us know in the comments section below!

join our current Betty MacDonald fan club contest, please.

There is only 1 day left - today!

You only have to pick Betty MacDonald's favourite flower and send a mail to our email-address.

Where can you find the answer?

Betty MacDonald mentioned her favourite flower in several letters and in one of her books.

Tell us Betty MacDonald's favourite flower, please.

Deadline: January 31, 2016

Betty MacDonald fan club birthday card contest is really a great idea.

The winner who sent the best and most original birthday card will be Honor
guest of the next International Betty MacDonald fan club event.

Deadline: March 15, 2016

A Betty MacDonald fan club birthday exhibit with many very special birthday cards by Betty MacDonald's family and friends.

You'll be able to see wonderful cards for Betty MacDonald with very touching messages for example by her daughter Joan MacDonald Keil or her good friend Monica Sone. ( see info below ' Betty MacDonald and The plague and I )

There will be a Betty MacDonald fan club birthday event DVD available.

Join us in voting for your favourite city, please.

Don't miss this video, please.

You can see brilliant Brad Craft.

Seems I'm in this for a hot second. I remember being asked to
participate one day on the street in front of the bookstore where I
work. I didn't think to ask what it was for, or even so much as the
name of the song or the band. Didn't want to be late coming back from
lunch. Silly bugger. The very nice young woman with the green hair
also featured herein happens to work at Magus Books. She mentioned
she'd seen me. Told me the name of the band, and here we are.

Angelique Kerber (pictured) beat Serena Williams in a major upset at the Australian Open final

The German, who was relatively unknown
outside her home country before Saturday night's clash, has risen to
number two in the world thanks to her spectacular win

Kerber
celebrated her 28th birthday on the first day of the Melbourne
tournament and tweeted pictures of her posing on one of the city's
beautiful bridges and getting in some practice.

Her tense match against Williams at the Rod Laver Arena was the German's first Grand Slam final.

But she has been an established top 10 resident since making it to the U.S. Open semi-finals in 2011 when she was the world 91.

Kerber
then solidified her place as one of the world's best players by
reaching the 2012 Wimbledon semi-finals and winning six career titles.

Her tense match against Williams at the Rod Laver Arena was the German's first Grand Slam final

She has thousands of fans on social media and often posts pictures of herself on holiday

She is one of the most well liked players on the tour and often posts fun pictures on Twitter

The
left-hander was the first German woman in the final at Melbourne Park
since Anke Huber in 1996 and is the first to win the tournament since
Steffi Graf in 1994.

Unsurprisingly Graf is her idol and she spent time training with the record-breaking champion at her home in Las Vegas.

In
an emotional post-match interview, Kerber said that in the lead-up to
the tournament Graf has said she was 'hoping for me and thinking of
me'.

'I think when I check my phone I will have a message from her,' she said.

'One
of the things you learn from Steffi because you spend some time around
her and practised with her and realised how hard she works, even in
retirement, what are the little things she helped you with getting over
the line in the tournaments?

Kerber celebrated her 28th birthday on
the first day of the Melbourne tournament and tweeted pictures of her
posing on one of the city's beautiful bridges and getting in some
practice

In an emotional post-match interview,
Kerber said that in the lead-up to the tournament Graf has said she was
'hoping for me and thinking of me'

'When I
met her, she told me to believe in myself, I am in a good way and go
for it. She knows that I really am working very hard and she told me
some day, the work pays off and tonight, it is really, really like she
said, all the work and yes, sweating on practice courts, it comes out
and it pays off.'

Born in Bremen, Germany, she grew up in a tennis family and her father was her coach for a long time.

She has previously spoken about how she touched her first racquet when she was just three-years-old.

The
tennis star is now based in in Puszczykowo, Poland, where her maternal
grandparents own a tennis facility named Centrum Tenisowe Angie – named
after her.

When asked about who her first phone call would be after she won, she said it would be her grandparents.

She
sent some slight shockwaves around the tennis world in May 2015 when
she parted ways with Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh and re-hired her old coach
Torben Beltz.

Kerber has also previously revealed that so far tennis is her only love, as there hasn't been any time to have a relationship.

'My great love is tennis – that has always been so,' she has previously said.

'Tennis
is the most important thing to me right now, I still have time to find a
boyfriend, get married and have children, After all if there is one guy
out there waiting for me, then we will find each other eventually,
without forcing it.'

The left-hander was the first German
woman in the final at Melbourne Park since Anke Huber in 1996 and is the
first to win the tournament since Steffi Graf in 1994

Kerber has also previously revealed that so far tennis is her only love, as there hasn't been any time to have a relationship

The tennis star is now based in in
Puszczykowo, Poland, where her maternal grandparents own a tennis
facility named Centrum Tenisowe Angie – named after her

At least 50 deadly swine flu cases reported in Russia

January 26, 2016 2:59 pm

MOSCOW - At least 50 people have
died of swine flu in Russia since last month, according to AFP
calculations based on data from regional health authorities, as the
virus seems to gain ground in the country.

Health authorities in the southern region of Rostov told RIA Novosti
state news agency on Monday that an additional two people had succumbed
to the virus, bringing the region’s swine flu death toll to eight.

Officials in the nearby Volgograd region meanwhile have said that at least 11 people have died of swine flu.

These latest cases follow the deaths of four adults and one child from
the virus in the North Caucasus region of Dagestan, and the deaths of
two infected patients in Yekaterinburg in the Urals and one in the
southern region of Adygea.

A first deadly case of swine flu was also reported this week in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine in March 2014.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Betty MacDonald mentioned her favourite flower in several letters and in one of her books.

Tell us Betty MacDonald's favourite flower, please.

Deadline: January 31, 2016

Betty MacDonald fan club birthday card contest is really a great idea.

The winner who sent the best and most original birthday card will be Honor
guest of the next International Betty MacDonald fan club event.

Deadline: March 15, 2016

A Betty MacDonald fan club birthday exhibit with many very special birthday cards by Betty MacDonald's family and friends.

You'll be able to see wonderful cards for Betty MacDonald with very touching messages for example by her daughter Joan MacDonald Keil or her good friend Monica Sone. ( see info below ' Betty MacDonald and The plague and I )

There will be a Betty MacDonald fan club birthday event DVD available.

In Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Magic, I liked the chapter, The Thought-You-Saiders
cure the most.

Like the part they said,”Marilyn’s mother said Marilyn
fell off her coaster and hurt her head, and they thought she said,
Marilyn fell in the toaster and was burnt up dead.” It was so funny.

The other chapter I liked a lot was, The
Never-Want-To-Go-To-Schoolers Cure.

I liked the time were Jody kept on
tricking his mother, and his mother acted so dumply.The other chapters were good, but not as funny as the others.

Your first book was also funny. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle the book that she
told stories to teach people good lessons, was terrific for the first
book of the series.

Betty MacDonald how nice it would be if you read this letter from me to you.Best regards,

A Newage Dreamer

Germany's Merkel says refugees must return home once war is over

NEUBRANDENBURG, Germany | By Andreas Rinke

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacts
as she addresses a news conference after a meeting with state premiers
at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, January 28, 2016.

Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch

German
Chancellor Angela Merkel tried on Saturday to placate the increasingly
vocal critics of her open-door policy for refugees by insisting that
most refugees from Syria and Iraq would go home once the conflicts there
had ended.Despite
appearing increasingly isolated, Merkel has resisted pressure from some
conservatives to cap the influx of refugees, or to close Germany's
borders. Support for her
conservative bloc has slipped as concerns mount about how Germany will
integrate the 1.1 million migrants who arrived last year, while crime
and security are also in the spotlight after a wave of assaults on women
in Cologne at New Year by men of north African and Arab appearance.The
influx has played into the hands of the right-wing Alternative for
Germany (AfD), whose support is now in the double digits, and whose
leader was quoted on Saturday saying that migrants entering illegally
should, if necessary, be shot.Merkel said it was important to stress that most refugees had only been allowed to stay for a limited period."We
need ... to say to people that this is a temporary residential status
and we expect that, once there is peace in Syria again, once IS has been
defeated in Iraq, that you go back to your home country with the
knowledge that you have gained," she told a regional meeting of her
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the state of Mecklenburg-Western
Pomerania.Merkel said 70 percent of the refugees who fled to Germany from former Yugoslavia in the 1990s had returned.Horst Seehofer,
leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the CDU's Bavarian sister
party, has threatened to take the government to court if the flow of
asylum seekers is not cut.Merkel
urged other European countries to offer more help "because the numbers
need to be reduced even further and must not start to rise again,
especially in spring".A MILLION MOREFabrice Leggeri,
the head of the European Union's border agency Frontex, said a U.N.
estimate that up to a million migrants could try to come to Europe via
the eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkans next year was realistic."It would be a big achievement if we could keep the number ... stable," he told the magazine Der Spiegel.Merkel
said all EU states should have an interest in protecting the bloc's
external borders, and all would suffer if the internal passport-free
Schengen zone collapsed and national borders were closed.AfD leader Frauke
Petry told the Mannheimer Morgen newspaper that Germany needed to reduce
the influx through agreements with neighboring Austria and a
reinforcement of the EU's external borders.But
she also said it should not be shy about turning people back and
creating "border protection installations" - and that border guards
should, if necessary, shoot at migrants trying to enter illegally.No
police officer wanted to shoot at a migrant, Petry said, adding "I
don't want that either but, ultimately, deterrence includes the use of
armed force".Such comments evoke
memories of Germany's Cold War division, when guards in the communist
East, led by Erich Honecker, were under orders to shoot people
attempting to cross the heavily fortified border into the West."The
last German politician who let refugees be shot at was Erich Honecker,"
said Thomas Oppermann, a senior member of the Social Democrats. (Additional reporting and writing by Michelle Martin in Berlin; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Angelique Kerber stuns Serena Williams to claim Australian Open title – as it happened

The German pulled off an incredible 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over the world
No1 to secure her first grand slam title and deny Williams a
record-equalling 22nd

Then comes the champion, as Kerber holds aloft the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. She can barely breathe when she comes to speak:

Serena, you are an inspiration, an unbelievable great person, so
congrats for everything you did already. In the first round I was match
point down so I was already one leg on the plane to Germany. I got a
second chance and I take my chance. To win it, my dream came true
tonight. My whole life I was working really hard, now I’m here and I can
say I’m a grand slam champion. I have the best family, the best team in
the world. I really enjoy this moment. Thank you so much. The best two
weeks of my life, my career. I had goosebumps when I was playing. See
you next year.

Apparently Kerber said she’d jump in the Yarra River a la Jim Courier
if she won the title. She’s already welling up though as she finishes
her speech and holds court on Rod Laver with the trophy.

Wow. That was only Williams’s fifth defeat in a
grand slam final. She’d won 21 out of 25 before today. It’s the first
time she’s lost the final set in a major final. Kerber had never even
been in a grand slam final before today. Kerber has confounded the stats
by playing the match of her life on the biggest stage of her life.

Gracious from Williams, who comes straight over to Kerber’s side of the court to congratulate the victor.
The pair embrace, Williams has some warm words for the German, who then
resumes her celebrations by going to her players’ box. Williams can’t
watch as she sits slumped in her chair. It was Roberta Vinci who ended
Williams’s hopes of matching Graf’s grand slam record at the US Open;
now it’s Kerber who has put history on hold in Australia. Unglaublich. I’m sure a certain German is watching in Las Vegas with a smile on her face.

Kerber wins the Australian Open title 6-4, 3-6, 6-4!

Kerber’s face has the expression of a woman who thinks her moment has
passed. She needs to shake that off, because if she were to win this
game, she would still be the Australian Open champion. She manages to
quickly get herself out of the funk by taking the first point. And the
second! 0-30. Williams opts for her go-to serve down the T. Ace. 15-30.
Williams goes for a rocket of a serve out wide but misses. The second
serve lands in, the pair engage in a lengthy duel from the back of the
court, Kerber, perhaps waiting for Williams to miss rather than going
for a winner herself, retreats well beyond the baseline and is
eventually beaten. 30-all. Will it be game point or will it be match
point? Game point, when Williams sets the point up with a gutsy forehand
down the line and then goes t’other way for the winner. 40-30. Now
Kerber is behind in the game, she finds it within herself to attack.
Deuce. Kerber goes toe-to-toe with Williams in a breathtaking
cross-court exchange and brings up championship point! Williams comes to
the net but inexplicably misses the volley which loops long! I can’t
believe I’m writing this but Angelique Kerber is the Australian Open champion! Yes, Angelique Kerber is the Australian Open champion!

About Me

Betty MacDonald Fan Club, founded by Wolfgang Hampel, has members in 40 countries.
Wolfgang Hampel, author of Betty MacDonald biography interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and friends. His Interviews have been published on CD and DVD by Betty MacDonald Fan Club. If you are interested in the Betty MacDonald Biography or the Betty MacDonald Interviews send us a mail, please.
Several original Interviews with Betty MacDonald are available.
We are also organizing international Betty MacDonald Fan Club Events for example, Betty MacDonald Fan Club Eurovision Song Contest Meetings in Oslo and Düsseldorf, Royal Wedding Betty MacDonald Fan Club Event in Stockholm and Betty MacDonald Fan Club Fifa Worldcup Conferences in South Africa and Germany.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour Members are Monica Sone, author of Nisei Daughter and described as Kimi in Betty MacDonald's The Plague and I, Betty MacDonald's nephew, artist and writer Darsie Beck, Betty MacDonald fans and beloved authors and artists Gwen Grant, Letizia Mancino, Perry Woodfin, Traci Tyne Hilton, Tatjana Geßler, music producer Bernd Kunze, musician Thomas Bödigheimer, translater Mary Holmes and Mr. Tigerli.